Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted that rising prices were a matter of “deep concern”, and said he hoped to bring inflation down to 5-6 per cent by December.
He projected a growth rate of 8.5 per cent for this fiscal, up from 7.2 per cent and 6.7 per cent in the previous two years. “This is widely regarded as one of the best p
erformances among the larger economies... Our medium-term target is to achieve 10 per cent growth. Given our savings and investment rate, this is an achievable target”, he said.
The government, he said, was giving the “highest priority” to containing inflation. “We will closely monitor the situation, and together with state governments take corrective steps to bring down prices.”